FOLK2FOLK, a peer-to-peer lender that aims to provide access to capital for UK SMEs, says it anticipates a £1.98 million profit for its 2021 fiscal year approximately 2X versus the year prior. Subject to audit, this is expected to be the company’s largest annual profit to date and marks three consecutive years of profit for the company.
FOLK2FOLK added that annual lending was a recorded amount of £108 million which resulted in cumulative lending volumes exceeding half a billion. The company’s growth is being aided by expansion into Northern Ireland and a multi-million-pound investment commitment from British Business Investments.
Roy Warren, FOLK2FOLK Managing Director, commented on the news:
“I am proud that during 2021 we delivered on what we said we’re going to do and are financially robust. But we’re not stopping there, we have ambitious growth plans for this year which are already moving ahead at pace. We see huge opportunities to write considerable volumes of loans across the UK, and Institutional investment is a key part of our strategy to support that. We also expect the alternative finance market to continue to consolidate and present opportunity for us to acquire loan books from other platforms. We see this as a growth area for us and are actively looking within the market to move forward with this.”
Warren said they have to expect 2022 to be a challenging year for everyone due to rising rates, inflation and the war in Ukraine. All of which fuels an “uncertain external environment.”
“This makes having a solid and sound base for any business ever more important. With only a small handful of lending platforms turning a profit, our strong profit levels evidence FOLK2FOLK’s stability in terms of finances, business levels and governance, and we know this supports investor and borrower confidence in us”.
FOLK2FOLK is regulated and fully authorized by the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).